Of Kings and Queens
by stormfirej
Summary: AU where the different countries of the world have been mashed together to form different, large, power crazy nations, each bent on carving out the world for themselves. Lovino is from the Country, and he is no exception to the laws the tyrant Queen places over her subjects. When he meets a green eyed man who is also wanted by the Crown, things start to get a little hectic.
1. Prologue

-Prologue-

The sound of horses were the only things that heralded their coming.

They were going to kill him.

Funny enough, the thought didn't seem to scare him much. He should've been bloody terrified, but actually, all he felt was a strange sense of abject calm.

"You either live or die tonight," he whispered, a smile crossing his face. Danger never failed to excite him.

His fingers began drumming a tune onto the sheath of his "borrowed" sword. It was a fine blade, silver and steel, double-edged and razor sharp. The only defining quality it had were the emeralds set into the hilt and scabbard. Somehow, he would have to get rid of them.

He can't have people noticing them. Notice meant certain death.

He sat on a branch and watched as the horses drew nearer and nearer, growing from tiny specks to a figure actually representing a horse and a rider.

There were only 5 fighters.

Instantly, he was dismayed. 5 fighters? The Queen thought that he could be taken down by only 5 of these corrupt bastards? Bullshit.

As the horses passed under him, he leapt and struck, sending horse and rider tumbling down and down, ending with a shameful death. Pity.

1 down, 4 to go.

When he was down arranging the graves for the "soldiers", he robbed their corpses before dumping them ungraciously into the mounds. At least he made them a grave. It could've been worse.

He eyed a horse still whinnying and shying away nervously, and studied his provisions.

"This will do," he said out loud, and taking the horse the Queen so generously provided, he disappeared into the undergrowth and made his way deeper into the wood he had grown up in.

Amber eyes passed under the dark green leaves, and he simply faded out from the world.

He was only 16.

**XxX**

People say that a lot can change in the time span of four years. But really, nothing changed at all.

Nothing except a few missing trees and a missing criminal.

The trees were easily enough explained. They were used for firewood, for building a tiny little hut in the middle of a dense forest.

The criminal, on the other hand, was not.

How do you say that a sixteen year old child had escaped the Queen? The shame!

When the Queen learnt the news that the boy had escaped, no one had ever seen her that mad. She slew the man who brought the news, hacking off his head with her very own longsword.

For days, she had kept to her chambers, and all she ever muttered was, "Incompetent fools. Five of my best fighters, and they're defeated by a mere child. A boy his age shouldn't even be able to wield a blade, much less kill someone! Something has to be done. Mark my word, that Vargas child will perish." Her words were like bullets, flying in all directions and hurting anyone who dared to interrupt her during that time.

After she formulated a plan, she sat back on her feather bed and returned to cordialness, surprising everyone. Maybe, indeed, she thought her plan would work.

It really didn't.

She sent Rangers out, running everywhere and anywhere throughout the Country. It was made out of Italy, Monaco, France and Switzerland, once individual countries but now merely one. They were simply known as the Country. The Queen had spread her influence far and wide, and had much power and wealth. The Country was surrounded by many other kingdoms, all of which she had eunuchs and other spies in place to constantly out-thwart her neighbours.

The Country was surrounded by two powerful nations. One used to be known as Czech Republic, Poland, Moldova, Slovakia, Austrian and Hungary, but now was Wiele.

In Ancient Polish, this meant "many."

The other was comprised of the former nations of Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia. It's new name was now Moćan.

This meant "powerful" in Ancient Bosnian.

All what the previous countries had stood for were gone. In fact, few had access to the knowledge that the Country was once many countries. To speak of that, the punishment was death. The reason for the Queen's fear?

It could bring back the old days, where people could vote, and people could think. It was better this way, the world agreed when the Country had been formed, and many had done the same. The mighty continent of Asia, with all its many countries, had come together simply to form Imperyo, or "Empire" in Ancient Filipino. The world wasn't the same, and few knew about it.

If no one knew about it, nothing could happen right?

Wrong.

The boy knew. The boy spoke. And now, the boy must die.

Much to her chagrin, criminal proved to be elusive, and none of her Rangers found the child, not even the one with the scar, who actually had a proper name but was known to her simply as Scar, and was her right-hand man.

This man would prove to turn traitor and run, but that's a story for later.

After the Rangers had so generously came back with zero news, apart from various bones, even a hand, to try to tell the Queen that her enemy had died.

He really hadn't , and the Queen knew that.

To pacify the public, she released a story saying that the criminal had been brutally slaughtered by a rogue, runaway horse in a freak accident. Now all she had to do was get rid of the Rangers she sent on to look for this criminal.

She hosted a lavish feast, but every single food item on the list was doused with lethal poison. They all died, every single one of her Rangers she sent, which were about 30, except for a sharp, green-eyed man.

He was smarter than most, and he didn't attend, sending a letter about him being out of the country. He then fled into the woods, only to be quickly caught by the Queen's guards.

He was 20, and he was going to die if someone didn't help.


	2. An Unexpected Happening

Ofkaq 2

Four years after his treason, Lovino woke up in his tiny hut feeling lonely, again. To be honest, now, it was common for him to wake up feeling lonely. After all, he had been living here for quite some time. No human interaction does that to people.

As he stood up, he was greeted with two looks from the two animals that shared his house, or hut, to be more specific.

"Morning, James," he gave a nod to the squirrel who resided in his kitchen.

Squeak.

He assumed that meant yes, and moved on to look at the brown bear who somehow, had also taken to using his living room as a cave.

"Morning to you too, Al," he nodded and tested out his rusty voice. He had been using it less and less, and sometimes he forgot what words to say.

Growl.

After his greeting, the two went out of the house, probably to forage for food. Al lumbered out the doorway, while James bounded out the window.

"Living like a king, Al?" He rolled his eyes. "Maybe one day you can bring back meat for me."

Al did nothing, but Lovino was used to it.

He crouched down to the fire and heaped firewood onto it, stirring at a can of soup.

So this was what his life had come to.

Hiding out in a wooden cabin with a bear and squirrel, because he knew something everyone else didn't.

It wasn't hard to find out, honestly, if you looked for the history of this place, you'd realize it was extremely vague. There were chunks of the information missing, so naturally, he had looked. And he had found.

The other thing was that he loved other men.

The Queen was homophobic to say the least.

He was so lost in his memories that his soup had burnt. Cursing, he was just about to try scraping it off the can when a loud bang resounded throughout the house, causing him to spill the soup on the floor.

In a flash, he had snatched up his sword, still with the emeralds in the hilt, and held it out warningly.

He kept there, until the bangs stopped at the door gave way. In toppled a man.

He tripped over the first step and went down in an ungracious heap, but when he didn't get up, Lovino approached him and gave him a sharp poke in the neck with his sword.

When he still didn't react, Lovino flipped the man around and saw an oozing, gaping wound.

This was new.

Lovino stood stock still, staring at the dying man. His wound was deep, but it hadn't breached the muscle lining. This man still had a chance.

The blade used to make the wound had obviously been high grade, it had cut through his wool and leather like paper. It was then that Lovino noticed the sword in his hand. It was bigger and slightly longer than his, and the hilt had a single ruby in the center. The blade of a Queen's Guard. This man was an enemy of the crown as well.

Lovino picked him up easily as he weighed next to nothing and placed him on the table, quickly stripping him off his cloak.

The man struggled to open his eyes, and when he did, Lovino saw the most piercing green eyes.

It was beautiful.

"M-my name, my name is-" The man struggled to say.

"B-be quiet. Your wound is deep, save your energy." Lovino didn't know what to say, this was the first human he had seen in four years.

"Antonio. My name is Antonio," the man continued.

Stubborn brat.

"Alright Antonio, you need to drink this for me, then we can get to…to saving you." Lovino handed over a small bottle of anaesthetic made from the leaves around him. Forests had many medicinal benefits, people seemed to forget all that.

Antonio drank the contents down and was instantly knocked out, leaving Lovino to clean his wounds for him.

Lovino had been training to become a Healer when he stumbled across the history of the Country. He had also wanted to become a Ranger, but that course of life was most definitely closed to him now. Rangers were endorsed by the Queen.

After he had worked furiously on the man, and used up most of his medicinal resources, he shrugged on his coat and disappeared into the woods to search for this man's Hunters.

To his great relief, he found none.

Lovino wasn't fond of killing other people.

He could do a lot of things, his eventual goal was to be a Master, those given special recognition for being able to do all the jobs in the Country.

The school he had gone to had recognized his talent to be a Hunter, his mom wanted him to become a Healer, his dad a Ranger, his best friend (who was dead, he died of an illness) wanted him to be a Queen's Guard. He didn't really know what to do, so he tried to do all.

He had failed all of them now.

He spotted a couple of rabbits and caught them, intending to make rabbit stew for him and his guest, though he wasn't sure if the man could stomach anything.

He spotted a few human footprints, though he wasn't sure if they were Antonio's or the Hunters. He still sent Al out, though.

When he stepped through the door, he found a awake and very much alive man.

_He must cling to life with tenacity._ Lovino thought to himself as the man and he made eye contact for the first time.

_He's beautiful_.

"Y-you, you are Vargas," the man stuttered.

Lovino felt his stomach plummet. Was this beautiful man sent to kill him?

"Yes." He saw no point in hiding the truth, and his hand went to his sword at his side.

"Lovino Vargas?"

"Yes!" His sword was halfway out.

"I am Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo." HE weakly held out his hand.

"W-what?" Lovino was stunned.

"I am saying hello, properly."

"But, but you know what I have done, the treason-" Lovino was cut off with the man's next sentence.

"I know. I was a Ranger, until the Queen decided to get rid of some of her clan."

"Get rid?" Lovino felt hollow.

"She killed off all the men sent to look for you. I'm the only one who escaped alive."

His words made Lovino feel sick. "Turn me in now!" He demanded, forcefully.

Antonio quirked up an eyebrow. "What for?"

"Too many people have died simply because I live."

"Not me, no."

"You're only wounded because of me!"

"It would've happened eventually." Antonio smiled. "I am a dangerous man, Lovino. I do not play by the rules."

"What do you mean?"

"I know the Country's history, just as well as you do, because everyone was given the background of your treason. But, I think everyone should know. It is dangerous, but so is fire. We keep fire in wooden houses and sleep next to it, knowing that you could wake up burnt. Or not at all." Antonio's eyes glimmered.

"You'll be dead for thinking that." Lovino warned.

"It may be dangerous, but I love the way it burns." Antonio continued, looking at Lovino out of the corner of his eyes.

Here was a man, with hair the colour and look fallen twigs and eyes like the emeralds in Lovino's sword, beautiful and elegant, telling him that he liked danger. That what he did wasn't wrong.

Lovino liked him.


	3. Friendship and Nightmares

After Antonio had made his speech, the two sat in silence for a while, staring at the crackling fire.

Lovino didn't know what to say. He had only been communicating with the animals and trees, human interaction seemed beyond him now.

Should he ask about Antonio's family? What about his background? Perhaps even his pet dog?

Did he even have a dog in the first place?

Lovino felt like smacking his head on the wall. The silence was starting to become unbearable.

"S-Sir Fernandez-Carriedo," He began, but was cut off by a curt reply from the other man.

"No."

"No?" Now, Lovino was more confused than ever. Had he said something wrong? He had started with the greeting, plain and simple, like how his mother used to drill it into him.

"You just saved my life, Lovino. I should think we could move past the formalities." Antonio gave him a smile.

Lovino let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and gave a tentative smile back.

"A-Alright. Uh, A-Antonio, if you do not mind me asking, where do you come from?"

He did it.

Lovino felt an immense swell of pride and achievement rise up inside him.

Of course, he had stuttered, so he could work on his delivery, but the fact of the matter was that he had said it.

Antonio looked at him. "You know then. That I am not from around here?"

Lovino nodded. It was hard to miss. Antonio's green eyes and rounder face was out of place here.

Everyone here had angular faces instead of Antonio's rounder one. They were small and diminutive people, whereas Antonio was bigger and taller.

However, if he kept his head down and hunched slightly, he would look the same as a slightly muscular farmer. Which would be important, what with him being an enemy of the Queen.

"I come from Spain." Antonio finally said, after a long pause.

It took Lovino a while to realize that he meant Ancient Spain, before it had been assimilated into a huge country.

Spain was part of Alegre, meaning "joyous" in Ancient Spanish. (The rulers had wanted the countries part of Alegre to be happy, and so far it was actually working out pretty well.)

Alegre was comprised of the former big nations, namely Portugal, Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

"That is Alegre, now. Why do you still refer to it as Spain?" Lovino chose his words carefully.

"Why do you refer to where we are in the Country as Italy?" Antonio countered.

Lovino shrugged, a clumsy shake of his shoulders. It had been too long since he had done that. "Don't answer my questions with a question." He replied instead.

Antonio met his eyes teasingly. "Why not?"

"B-because no, that's why!" Lovino had exhausted his vocabulary.

Antonio grinned and reached out a hand to ruffle the others hair. Lovino froze when he reached out his hand, horridly wondering if he was going to strike him, but after a while decided he liked this hair ruffling action the other man did.

He consented to have Antonio ruffle his hair a little longer, when Antonio suddenly asked, "What is that?" and reached out a hand for his curl.

Stupid, noticeable, curl.

Lovino jerked backwards, but not fast enough, and Antonio gave his curl a pull.

Lovino bit his lip hard.

"N-nothing, just a bit of my hair that forever sticks up." He tried to inch away slowly, hoping Antonio wouldn't see the blush on his face.

I'm twenty moons old and an enemy of the Queen. I have been hiding in a forest for four moons. Be a man.

"Why is your face so red?" Antonio asked, staring at him.

So much so for that idea.

"N-no reason, sir. The firelight must be playing tricks on you." Lovino replied hastily, knowing that Antonio would be more focused on his formality than why his face seemed red.

He was right, and Antonio let out a loud sigh. "Lovino…why do you insist on formality?"

"Why do you insist on having none?" Lovino shot back.

"Giving me a taste of my own words, I see," Antonio laughed. "In Alegre we have no formality. The Country is too formal. Besides, friends shouldn't be so formal with each other, should they?"

Lovino felt his face heat up again.

Friends.

"My mother always taught me to greet everyone with sir or my lady. But, I suppose you are right," Lovino replied grudgingly. "I'll try not to use formalities with you, si-Antonio."

This gave Antonio a proper smile, and he laughed, before wincing in pain and clutching his chest. With all their bantering, Lovino had forgotten that Antonio had been wounded.

Some kind of healer he was.

"C-careful." Lovino warned, and reached out for his linens, which were already stained with blood. Antonio waved him away, murmuring something about being fine.

Antonio was a horrible liar.

"Don't lie to me," Lovino snapped, and reached for Antonio again. "You need a change of linen, or the wound will fester, and you will die."

Antonio gaped at him, before allowing him to undo the bandage around his chest and reapply a new one.

"I made a pouch of fireleaf and mud, but fireleaf isn't called fireleaf, for nothing, s-Antonio, and it will sting." Lovino warned as he placed the new linen over his wound. Antonio winced and clutched the arm of the chair he was in as soon as the pouch made contact with his wound.

"P-perhaps you will have some night potion, just to ease the pain and help you sleep?" Lovino asked sympathetically. He knew how fireleaf felt, and while it certainly did a good job of cleaning an injury, some said it hurt worse than the injury itself. Well, it was either that or die, so you took what you had.

"N-no. I'm fine. Here, ask me another question." Antonio said, eyes going slightly out of focus.

"Ah, okay," Lovino reached over the side of the chair to the kitchen table, which was a pretty accurate representation of how small his house was, and retrieved the sword that had followed Antonio into this tiny house. "Where did you get this?"

Antonio looked at it and chuckled, before regretting the decision. "I cut the owner's head off with an axe."

"Axe?"

"Yes, Maria. I hid it under my cloak," Antonio tipped his head in the general direction of his cloak, which was near the door, or what once was a door.

Lovino got up and moved over to where he had thrown the sheepskin cloak, and found the axe hidden in underneath the cloak, attached to the inner side by a thin yet sturdy piece of leather, which was sewn securely onto the sheepskin. The axe was long, and covered practically the entire cloak, which was very long so as to accommodate Antonio's height. In fact, Lovino thought that the axe would even poke out from the cloak when he wore it.

"You have a good tailor," Lovino said admiringly as he drew the axe from the pouch.

"Thank you, I sewed it myself." Antonio gave a cheeky smile, and Lovino felt himself blushing yet again.

Stupid man and his stupid adorable grins.

Lovino brought the long, double-bladed axe to Antonio, who held it like an old friend.

"I didn't want to kill him, that Queen's Guard. His name was Ron. He was just doing his job, but if I had let him live, I would've died. You know what it is like, killing a man. How many did you kill?" Antonio wasn't being mocking, he had just genuinely forgotten.

"Six," Lovino muttered. "The guard who came to get me and five others during the escape."

Antonio nodded and looked back into the flames. "I've killed five. All five were sent to kill me, and the last one dealt me this." He gestured to the bandages, already spotted with plums of blood.

"You really should be resting," Lovino gestured to his bed. "I'll sleep with Al tonight."

Antonio looked confused, so Lovino explained to him that a bear and a squirrel shared his house, which made Antonio laugh softly. "You seem like an interesting person, Lovino Vargas. When I wake up I am determined to get to know you better."

Lovino blushed. "S-shut up! J-just to go bed already, dammit." He scolded, and offered his arm to Antonio to enable him to stand. Antonio leaned on his axe and Lovino's arm, and by some feat of strength made it to the bed.

Lovino lied.

He wasn't going to sleep with Al tonight, for he still had the bear standing sentry outside.

He would sleep on the floor, as he sometimes did. Wood was warm, and comfortable too. Sometimes, that is.

Truth be told, it was only evening time, and the stars hadn't come out yet, but Lovino wanted the other man to go to sleep. His old teacher used to say that sleep was the best medicine for humans, and strangely enough he didn't want Antonio to die on him.

So when Antonio tried to stop drinking the night potion, Lovino forced the glass higher until Antonio swallowed and went to bed.

Don't die, Antonio, he thought as he brushed the hair out of Antonio's eyes. You can't die.

XxX

Lovino's pillow smelt like mint and wildflowers and wood, which was an interesting combination, but Antonio decided he liked it all the same. Lovino gave him a glass of night potion, a thick and sticky drink derived from some common wildflower known as Night's Bane, that gave the drinker immediate and dreamless sleeps, in large doses. In small doses, however, it only dulled the pain.

"Not too much," Antonio wanted to say. "I don't want to sleep."

However, when he tried to stop drinking, Lovino simply tilted the glass further until Antonio had no choice but to swallow.

The last thing he recalled was Lovino almost tenderly brushing the hair out of his eyes.

They say that night potion was supposed to bring dreamless sleep, but clearly someone had been wrong when the labelled the potion. His dreams were anything but dreamless.

This is what he had been afraid of, the nightmares. They never stopped coming. Thanks to the Queen, there's not a night he slept quiet in a bed, or without, even with this medication.

Antonio dreamt that the world was a sea of blood.

Everywhere he turned, all he could see was the endless red sea.

He was perched on a little island, made out from the fallen shields of soldiers, but the red tide seemed to be insistent on dragging him down with them.

Lovino. The thought made him panic.

Where's Lovino?

He looked out and saw that on the last available area of land, there were two figures standing there.

Then, the sound came to him. Steel rang on steel from every corner of his vision. From around him, more islands erupted from the earth with a splash of red, and more people appeared. The red tide was receding.

However, Antonio only had eyes for the two figures directly in front of him. He recognized the retreating figure immediately, knowing him to be Lovino. His contender was a small lady, but she fought viciously. He knew her too, she was the Queen.

He tried to paddle towards Lovino, because he wasn't winning. The erupted islands only had people on the Queen's side and they were fast, faster than you can believe, and they were slicing Lovino everywhere, and the red tide rose once more.

He tried to scream, but he could make no sound.

He looked back down towards the sea, and hands came out of the sea and latched themselves onto him and pulled him down, down, down, tillhe ran out of air and all he could taste was blood.

When he woke up, it was because Lovino had shaken him awake, pale and trembling. Antonio tasted blood in his mouth from when he bit his tongue in his sleep.

"You were screaming. In your sleep." Lovino said as he handed Antonio another glass, this of plain water.

"Night potion doesn't work," Antonio replied bitterly, the happiness gone out of him. "It is just me and my nightmares."

Lovino grimaced and looked at him, eyes full of understanding. "Don't worry, I'm going to be right here."

Antonio felt like a child. "Promise?"

"I promise."


	4. A Journey to a Mismatched Town

_Hi guys XD sorry for being late in updating ahaha but we have exams now and a ton of homework (like seriously) _

_I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia._

* * *

Antonio begged Lovino for the hundredth time that week. His words were common throughout the hut.

"Please, please Lovino? I'll wear a cloak and keep my head don't and I won't say nothing." These words were always accompanied by a, "for the gods' sake, Antonio, no!"

The reason for this entire ruckus was Antonio. He was feeling very much like a caged wild animal. He was a Ranger, had been a Ranger for the past seven years, and being cooped up was the worst kind of punishment.

He had been free and met so many people and laughed and ran, being forced to stay hidden in the hut and recuperate made Antonio feel restless. He needed to get out and do something.

Sighing, he bent to pick up the fallen makeshift broom. Having nothing to do, he had taken to cleaning the hut over and over again with fervour.

Suddenly, the door banged open and in strode Lovino, hair windswept and eyes glowing. He was always like this after a run through the woods.

As soon as Antonio spotted him, the familiar words filled his mouth. He was just about to spit it out at Lovino when the other raised a warning finger and pointed it in his direction.

"Shut your trap, Antonio, we'll leave for town today. Okay?"

When Antonio registered the words, his face lit up like a child offered a candy bar. His green eyes glimmered with happiness.

Lovino found himself reaching out to ruffle those messy brown curls. _Cute_, he thought, and then mentally slapped himself.

Antonio froze at the sudden gesture affection.

"Lovi?" He asked, but Lovino had already turned away. "Go on, hurry up and get dressed. It's a two day journey by foot, so we have to leave now."

Antonio chucked and leaned over to pull his cloak and axe off the peg on the wall. Lovino was back to himself now, barking orders and expecting them to get done.

Lovino shrugged on his leather hunting jacket, an old patched and faded thing, but he seemed to be attached to it and laced up his boots.

He found a piece of twine and tied his curl to another strand of hair at the back of his head. His curl violently protested at being tied back, but it had to, it was the most noticeable feature about him. He was breathless by the time he was done, but if Antonio noticed he didn't say anything.

They packed simple meals, the few scraps of money Lovino had, and of course, weapons. It disquieted Antonio to pack weapons for a journey into town, but he knew they had too. It still didn't change the fact he hated it. Hated the way the metal jingled as Lovino tightened the straps, hated the weight it added to the pack.

Together, they strode out of the house, and started their trek.

Both of them were in the peak of fitness, even Antonio, whose chest held a puckered pink scar from the sword cut. So, they only stopped for a break when the sun had truly set and the two couldn't see a foot in front of them.

After a very disappointing meal of hard bread and cheese, the two started to drop off to sleep.

Antonio lay down on the grass and looked at Lovino, who had started a small fire. The fire was beacon to any Queen's Guard or Rangers, but either Lovino didn't care, or he thought he could take them on.

He studied Lovino. He had untied his curl and it stood out against the backdrop of darkness. His eyes reflected the firelight, and his hair glowed. His eyes were sunken in shadow, the same shadow that outlined his cheekbones. He was staring into the distance, lost to the world.

Antonio realised with a jolt that Lovino looked...quite sexy. His face burned at that, and he quickly turned around.

"Lovi?" He asked, still facing the back.

"Yeah?" Lovino tore his gaze away from the darkness and looked at Antonio.

"Why did you suddenly agree to go to town?" Antonio was curious. It seemed to be his fatal flaw.

Lovino shrugged and laid down on his pack, grimacing as his head knocked into a dirk that jutted out. "We needed more medical supplies and a whetstone for our swords. I think we have just enough money from that short stint I had as an unlicensed healer."

Antonio loved the fact that he said "we". It was a tiny thing, and Lovino probably didn't even notice he said it, but he did, and Antonio loved that. He was still smiling as he gave into sleep, hoping that he wouldn't have another nightmare.

He did.

He could never seem to shake these nightmares that plagued him, whether he slept in the day or at night.

This time, it was his friends, his Ranger friends, holding piles of food that streamed from their fingers and turned to dust.

"Why didn't you come?" they wailed, and clawed at Antonio until his clothes were shredded and his skin was bleeding. "Why didn't you?"

The nightmare lasted all night, and when he woke it was because the first light of dawn was streaming through the firs. Lovino didn't bother with a watch, so Antonio was glad to find they hadn't been taken captive during the night. He looked for Lovino and found him, much to his surprise, less than a foot away from him. His hand was on Antonio's shoulder, and his hair was in danger of being scorched by the embers of the fire. Antonio judged that he had fallen asleep while trying to shake him from his nightmare. It made Antonio smile to know that he did care, in his own way.

He got up and moved to the tiny but fast moving stream they had made camp in, and splashed his face with water.

XxX

Lovino heard the screaming half way in the night. _Don't scream_, he thought grouchily. _You'll attract people._ He trudged over to Antonio and shook him vigorously, but he didn't stir. Lovino glared at the sleeping, screaming figure, and hit him, wondering what nightmare Antonio was having now. When the figure still didn't budge, Lovino sighed and rolled to the grass, staring up at the sky and the constellations he was familiar with. And then he began to talk.

"Look up, Tonio," he murmured, staring at the sky and tilting Antonio's head up with one hand. "There are billions on billions of stars and planets and maybe on one of them there is some good. I should like to see the…stars." Lovino dropped off to sleep, noticing that Antonio had stopped screaming, but whether that was his doing or the nightmare ceasing he didn't know.

He awoke to the smell of cooking meat and looked up to see Antonio holding out a piece of flame cooked meat on a skewer. "I found a rabbit," Antonio said simply.

After they had scoffed down the meat, which was refreshing change form miserable bread, and wiped their greasy hands on the grass, they began their hike again. Lovino tied his curl back again, making him wince and turn red-faced, but again Antonio said nothing, and merely stared at Lovino with an expression of bewilderment.

Halfway through, Lovino stumbled on a gnarled root that stretched out like a hidden snake. He nearly plunged face first into the grass, but somehow Antonio caught him. His arms encircled Lovino's slim waist and jerked him back upright, settling Lovino down on the safe, safe grass. Lovino offered no reply but a short "thanks" and continued walking, praying that Antonio didn't see the blush on his face. Bad enough he thought Antonio cute, now he was blushing? He was a grown man, he shouldn't be getting worked up over this kind of thing.

However, there would be another incident where Lovino would be grateful for the insane strength of his companion.

The sun had just begun to set, and Lovino, as usual, wasn't looking where he was going. Lovino was clumsy. It was a fact that he couldn't escape. However, as soon as he had a sword in his hand and a foe to face, he was so accurate that even Antonio with his strength and reflexes feared to take him on in single combat. This time, however, a creeper had snagged his foot and sent him flying forward, nearly falling off a ravine.

Antonio caught him with one hand and set him back on the ground as if he weighed no more than a feather. This time Lovino stuttered out a proper thank you and marvelled at Antonio's hidden strength. He felt as if Antonio could break him in half if he wanted to.

"Careful, Lovi," Antonio chuckled as he set Lovino back on the ground. "We don't want you getting hurt just as our journey is at a close."

The concern in his voice made Lovino blush and walk even faster.

The sun was almost fully set when they neared the crest of the mountain they were climbing. The town was spread out before them, all jumbled and differently-sized buildings. It was as if a puzzle had been pieced together wrong, and some parts didn't fit in at all.

"Sunsets and sunrises are good for sad people," Lovino remarked as he watched the sun go down over this mismatched town.

Antonio looked at him in surprise of this random statement. "What do you mean?" He asked, but Lovino carried on, oblivious to his comment.

"I once stayed on my roof and watched both the sunrise and sunset," He continued, the dying sun glow turning his face a ruddy red.

"And were you very sad the day you watched the sunrise and set?" Antonio asked, but Lovino didn't reply.

* * *

_Thank you for reading uwu_

_~stormfirej_


	5. When in Town

_Hi guys! Sorry for not updating XD I had exams, so sue me! Anyway, here is the chapter. Hope you enjoy it, and if you do, please leave a review! Thank you uwu_

_Mance: Thank you! Here is your chapter xD is your name...by any chance...supposed to be Mance Rayder from Game of Thrones? Cause that'll be so cool._

_~stormfirej_

* * *

Lovino stood, watching the sky long after the sun had gone down and his legs had started to ache. In fact, he would've stood there longer if not for Antonio gently nudging his shoulder and asking, "Are we staying the night in town?"

Lovino turned to look at his companion. They had been living in the same hut for around a month, and Lovino was starting to feel comfortable around him. A feeling he had not felt in a long while. "Can I trust you?" Lovino asked instead, watching the pale shadow in front of him. If it wasn't for Antonio's cat eyes, gleaming against the darkness, Lovino wouldn't have known he was there.

Antonio stepped back, clearly offended. "Yes, of course you can trust me, Lovi! I'm your friend. Besides, if I wanted to kill you, I would've done it long ago."

Lovino considered these variables, and decided that _yes, I can trust him_. He leaned forward, fumbling until his hand closed around Antonio's arm. Then he turned and marched opposite from where the sun had gone down, he went east.

Antonio tripped and stumbled, this time he being the clumsy one, and frantically asked Lovino where they were going. He could all too clearly feel the burn of Lovino's skin against his, burning against the night chill, and found himself wondering what the other male would do if Antonio were to twist his arm a little and hold Lovino's hand.

He flushed and didn't do anything, guilty of the thoughts running through his mind.

Lovino moved with unerring accuracy, knowing exactly where to place his feet, while Antonio stumbled along, scraping his arms against the barks of invisible trees. _He must've taken this route many times_, Antonio realized, _he isn't tripping at all_. _Which is new, for Lovi. Especially in the dark._

Ten minutes after this blind hike through the wilderness started, Antonio finally dared to ask his quick-tempered friend, "can we light a torch?"

Lovino's answer was kinder than expected. "No fire," he said, voice seemingly coming from thin air. "I will not risk a fire."

Antonio still had more questions, bubbling and frothing on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't say anything. If even Lovino, the one with the I-do-not-care attitude was scared about lighting a fire, then they must be going somewhere secret.

Antonio's spine tingled with anticipation, even while he was being dashed against rocks and trees. He always had a soft spot for secrets and mysteries. Especially puzzles. He liked figuring them out, always elated at how these random pieces came together to form a perfect picture.

Suddenly, Lovino came to such a stop that Antonio's nose knocked into his head.

He rubbed his nose with his free hand and winced, while his companion pushed aside something that sounded like a curtain of leaves.

"This way." Lovino gestured, realized Antonio couldn't see him, and decided on the perfect method of randomly rugby tackling Antonio and shoving him into the unknown space.

Here, Lovino finally pulled out his flint and lighted a stick, allowing Antonio to get a good look around. What he saw took his breath away.

They were in a small and tiny clearing, or what he believed to be a clearing until he saw the curtains of leaves hanging down all around him, and the tree that leaned out up and over them.

It was a weeping willow tree. It was old, very old, and it pervaded the place with age. Antonio suspected that it had seen the beginning of the Country, and all the things before it, and that it would even see the end of it. If there was an end in sight, that is. It was huge and white-ish, and its leaves were so thick and dense that it formed the perfect hideout for a runaway. There was even a bank of still clear water, filled by the passing stream that wriggled and meandered around the hillside.

Tiny little fireflies fluttered and bounced into the leaves, having been trapped there when they flew in after Lovino had pulled apart the bars of leaves.

Lovino was watching him anxiously out of the corner of his eye, and Antonio realized that this place must mean a lot to him. "It's beautiful," Antonio breathed out, and looked at him with wonder. "How did you find this?" He asked, staring at the sights, trying to burn the image into his memory.

"I found it," Lovino said, "while I was running. You're the first person I've brought here." He tried to sound nonchalant, but Antonio heard the nervous waver in his voice. He found it endearing. "It's become like a safe house for me. We can stay the night here." Lovino added, then busied himself getting water. Antonio heard the _if you want_ that Lovino wanted to add on, though.

"Of course we can stay here!" Antonio replied enthusiastically, and visibly saw Lovino relax.

"Great," Lovino grinned, and reached into the hollow of one of the branches and pulled out two woven sleeping mats. "When I returned home after I was chased my mother gave me these. Then she told me to run." He said the words like they hurt. Lovino shook his head and spread out the mats on the floor.

Lovino was asleep in minutes, but Antonio was still wide awake, watching the stars through the tiny gap and watching the fireflies bump about aimlessly. The temperature was perfect, and Antonio loved it.

He finally fell asleep, and for once, he didn't have a nightmare.

Well, his definition of nightmare had certainly become smaller, so while he did wake up sweaty and heart pounding, he didn't scream.

Which was good.

He woke up to Lovino rudely shaking his shoulder and yelling dangerously, "I swear, Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo if you don't get up this instance I will leave you behind and never go back to town with you!"

Eventually he learned that Lovino had spent a quarter of an hour trying to shake him from his sleep, and did not put Lovino into a fine mood.

He was grumbling all the way down the mountain, and even at the store where he was supposed to keep his head down and just buy the flour, he was still grumbling.

"We should've left by now, stupid Antonio, now there goes the whole bloody schedule!" He mumbled, paying the man for the flour. The man gave him a suspicious glance, but looked away when Lovino thanked him and strolled the door nonchalantly.

The thing about towns, Lovino realized, is that many people from all walks of life gather here. And to blend in, all you have to do is be average. So that's exactly what Lovino was, average. He said thank you when he was supposed to and paid the amount needed. He didn't have his cloak up, but he did have his curl back, because that always drew attention to someone. He was counting on the fact that the Queen had pronounced him dead and no one was really looking for him anyway.

Antonio, on the other hand, was different. He couldn't go without a hood as he was noticeable. Instead, Lovino had given him a farmer's cloak they took off the roadside, and drawn spots all over him with red dye.

He was mimicking an old plague, obviously known was the Spot. It wasn't contagious unless you were in direct contact with the person, so he could walk around and purchase items by pointing, and the people stay well away from him.

The whole day went without drama, and it was towards the end when the commotion started.

Later Antonio would pin all the blame on Lovino.

They were walking back, having used up the last of the money. Lovino was trying to haggle an old lady for a finely cut steel dirk. It was a beautiful one, intricately carved yet no gemstones. That made it worth next to nothing.

It was while they were bargaining that a young man came round to the front of the shop. His arms were burly and corded with thick muscles.

"I'll buy it for 4 silvers, and no more." Lovino said, staring down the old lady.

"6 silvers," the old lady stubbornly replied. "No less."

"4!"

"6!"

The young man watched the words fly back and forth, and then suddenly slammed his hand down onto the workbench.

"If you want that dirk so much, I'll fight you for it. Single combat," The man smirked. "Or are you afraid?"

Lovino bristled. "I am not afraid. I accept your challenge."

He pulled out his steel sword, having swapped it for his golden one. That one drew too much attention.

Antonio gaped at this spectacle, but couldn't say anything without drawing attention to himself. He cursed Lovino under his breath and made ready to pull out his axe. As a just in case. Single combat challenges were common amongst the townsfolk, Antonio remembered, so this one wouldn't seem out of place. Hopefully.

The young man eyed the sword and sized up Lovino, before reaching for a heavy mace lying on the workbench and guffawing. He turned to the crowd who gathered and threw his hands into the air, holding onto the mace with one hand.

"This little runt thinks he can beat me! Me, the defeater so many like him!"

The crowd cheered as he continued his speech, and some girls even called out his name, which turned out to be Bernard.

_What kind of name is Bernard?_ Lovino thought grouchily as he sized up his opponent. Bernard was big and brawny, and judging from his choice of words he wasn't too big on brains.

"Me and this man will fight till first blood!"

_It's this man and I, not me and this man. But it's good you chose first blood, or you probably will die. Not that I want to kill you or anything, but you're getting on my nerves. _Lovino thought scathingly as his opponent pranced around and waved his mace. _With luck, he'll hit himself with that ugly thing and knock himself out. _

"If I fight you, will you promise to obey the laws of the English language?" Lovino proclaimed dramatically, and there were a few sniggers from the crowd.

"What you saying?" Bernard replied, glaring at him.

Lovino sighed. "Can we get on with it?"

"Before we begin, we must ask ourselves, what is your name? I think the gravediggers will like to know." Bernard belched again, and the girls sighed.

"My name? My name is...you don't need to know my name, Bernard. You said we're fighting till first blood, and I don't want your...cronies coming after me." Lovino smiled at the rage crossing Bernard's face.

_Chances are, if I get you riled up enough, you'll just be an angry bull. _

Bernard howled as he lifted his mace in a heavy downward swing, intended to crush open Lovino's skull. Maces weren't good for first blood challenges, but Lovino wasn't complaining.

Lovino jumped swiftly to the side, and hit him in the face with the side of his blade, making a loud 'smack' sound resonate around the square. The crowd fell silent.

Bernard didn't take kindly to being slapped in the face with a sword, and roared furiously. He swung his mace to where Lovino stood, but again, Lovino spun away, an annoying smirk on his face.

Antonio watched from the sidelines, horrible excitement making its home in his stomach.

He understood what Lovino was doing at once.

If he made that Bernard guy mad enough, he would just keep swinging, and Lovino would just keep humiliating him. Antonio resolved never to get into single combat with Lovino as the two danced around the square, steel ringing on steel.

Finally, Lovino was bored of teasing the thick headed Bernard, and at the next mace swing he spiralled away, bringing his sword up in a sharp uppercut that sliced through his opponent's tunic and gave him a long, shallow cut across his chest.

The crowd went silent once more as Bernard stared in disbelief at the blood beading across the slice.

The silence was brought to a stop by the cantering of hooves, and the banner of a Queensguard.

And Lovino dropped his sword, pushed through the crowd, grabbed Antonio and ran.


	6. What To Do When You're Being Chased

_Hello! I am so sorry for the lapse in updating I thought I had updated this chapter, but it turned out I didn't, and I had deleted my copy uwu_

_So here it is! Yay! _

_Please review if you liked it danke_

* * *

Lovino's feet pattered on the tiled ground, in tune with that of his companion, Antonio. At his side, the weapon which he had rightfully won glittered, a symbol of triumph.

"Yield!" the leader of the Queensguard demanded. "You have broken Law 1219; no more single combat challenges!"

Lovino almost snorted. Single combat challenges were what many of the people in this crazy, mismatched town lived for. Otherwise, they would go mad with boredom, or be forced to fight in the pits, where they were notorious for lack of mercy and gruesome deaths.

"Yield!" the leader demanded yet again, and Lovino stopped, turned and gave them a rude gesture.

"Sucks to your yield!" he replied between panting breaths, before allowing a tight faced and furious Antonio to drag him away.

Antonio felt like slapping Lovino, for the first time since he had started living with him. They were being _chased, _by _Queensguard, _who were mounted on _sure, swift horses, _which could probably outrun them in less than a few minutes. Maybe they'd last five minutes if they were lucky. This was no time for jokes or sarcastic comebacks.

Suddenly, Lovino veered left, into a dense part of the woods. Antonio felt that he had finally gone around the bend.

"What are you doing?" Antonio panted, but when Lovino didn't bother looking back, he gave up and followed Lovino into the woods.

Running through the woods was dangerous for humans, but much like a stroll in the park for horses. Sure, they could fall and break their legs, but the chances of that happening when they're Queensguard bred was slight.

Lovino disappeared through a thicket of bushes, and Antonio followed him, only to find Lovino missing.

_It was a trap! _Antonio realized, but all of a sudden, Lovino's voice wafted down through the trees.

"Climb up, Tonio. There isn't much time."

"What?"

"Trust me! Climb up!"

Antonio stared despairingly at the trees, before submitting himself to his unfortunate fate and clambering ungracefully up the trees.

Not a minute later, the Queensguard thundered in, all yells and shouts.

"Where did they go?" One of the men asked, and the one who yelled yield whirled around with a stormy expression.

"They must have split up." He said. "Go on, find them! We can't have another failure on our hands. The Seventh Legion must not fail!"

Antonio pressed himself further against the tree, feeling the rough edges of the bark scrape against his exposed arms and neck. He was sure that the Seventh Legion would realize that the wanted criminals were right above them. He glanced over to Lovino, who was white faced and shaking, though it did not seem to have anything to do with the men below them.

"Pardon my words, Captain Florent, but isn't this a job for the Rangers? We have crossed into the woods." The man who spoke earlier said.

_Oh, so this is the famous Captain Connor Florent, _Antonio thought, amused. _The one who has failed every single recon and hunting mission. No wonder we can escape so easily._

"Aaron, need I remind you that we happen to have a…ahem, shortage of employment for Rangers? Not to mention our best Commander in centuries became a wanted criminal." Florent spat at the recruit, who flushed a dark red.

Antonio felt hatred for this vile man beneath him. _Excuse me? _He felt like screaming. _All I did was find out about the history of this place and escape death. Your Queen killed them all!_

"Why do we have to capture those two anyway? Law 1219 is foolish."

There was a momentary silence.

"Is that treason I hear, recruit?" Florent asked dangerously.

Aaron gave Captain Florent a contemptuous look and said, "has anyone ever told you that you are a horrible Captain?" before wheeling his horse around and galloping south, away from the town.

The legion stared at each other in shock, the silence only breaking by a hastened command from the captain.

"About turn! We're going back to town to report that scum."

The legion galloped away, leaving Antonio with wobbly legs and breathless. He waited until they were out of sight before quickly climbing back down. Lovino climbed down at the speed of sound, and was already on the ground before Antonio had even reached the midway point.

"That was close," Antonio took a deep breath, noticing the way Lovino shook and trembled about the place. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm…fine." Lovino replied, but the hesitation was noticeable.

"No, you're not."

Antonio felt his heartbeat race up when Lovino looked at him square in the eye. He really liked Lovino's eye colour. It seemed to be green one day, then hazel the next. But no matter what shade of what colour they were always beautiful.

They seemed to say things that Lovino would never speak. Right now, they were panicked and terrified.

And Antonio didn't even think, he just placed his hands on Lovino's waist and pulled him forward, wrapping him in a hug.

He briefly wondered whether Lovino could feel his heart, beating away like a speeding train, or whether he could see his eyes, which were much too bright.

**XxX**

"Are you afraid of heights?" Antonio asked directly into Lovino's ear. He shivered when he felt Antonio's warm breath on his neck and ear.

He didn't reply at first, mainly because he was wondering what to do with his hands. Antonio was _hugging _him. He didn't know what to do. He had not had human contact for years, and now he was being hugged.

He settled on wrapping his hands around the small of Antonio's back and buried his face into the crook of Antonio's neck. Antonio smelt nice, like rain and old books. Lovino felt like he could stay there forever.

"Lovi?" Antonio asked again, and Lovino heard a worried waver in his voice and was oddly touched.

"I…yeah. Yeah, I'm afraid of heights. Is that bad?" Lovino tensed up against Antonio, feeling the warmth of his hands through the thin leather and cotton of his attire.

_Four layers of clothing. Shirt, jacket, pants, boxers. _Lovino found himself wondering, and then mentally slapped himself, feeling a blush rise into his face. _Oh gods._

"There's nothing wrong with that," Antonio sounded amused. "Everyone does have their fears, right?"

"Y-yeah." Lovino hid his face again, and briefly pondered why Antonio was being so nice about this. It was a weakness. Weaknesses weren't good. They were the epitome of _not good._

"Fear isn't a weakness, Lovi. Fear makes you jump higher, run faster, fight harder. Fear is why you're still alive. Fear makes you strong." It was Antonio, calm and composed and strong, breathing hotly against his neck.

Lovino opened his mouth, realized he must have said that out loud, and closed it again.

"Shut up."

Antonio chuckled as he let go of Lovino, turning away from him, face tinged slightly pink. "You only say that cause I am right."

Lovino gave him a glare. "Shut up."

Antonio smiled broadly and turned to face him. "See? You just proved my point."

Lovino blushed and looked away. "Shut up. We need to go south. The house is south."

Antonio laughed softly, a musical laugh that Lovino wanted to hear more of. "South it is, Lovi."

* * *

_Thank you for reading owo_

_bless ur souls_

_please review if you liked it hehe _

_ok bye_

_~stormfirej_


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